CoWR  Saving Terra
by Lady of Insainity
Summary: The Half Esper has been taken by Chaos! Are you a bad enough dude to save her?
1. Chapter 1: The one, the only

**CoWR - Saving Terra**

_Chapter 1: The one...the only..._

_**DISCLAIMER: As much as I'd like to own any of the FF characters, I can't, because Square Enix owns them**_

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><p>The Nautilus arrives at its final destination, the expanse of plains known as the Veldt.<p>

Cid looks out one of the many windows "Amazing... You say that every monster in your world lives there?"

"Every single one... So it might contain every monster in all the worlds now..."

"I'm still not sure how you knew of this place..." Sara mumbles

"... Me neither. But..."

The Nautilus lands outside what was once Mobliz.

"... Who did this...? Is this... what Chaos does to those that oppose him?" He clutches his fist tight, and for a moment, his eyes flash red before returning to their normal green. He cups his hands over his mouth. "HELLO? IS THERE ANYONE THERE? ANYONE?"

A young girl takes a peak outside from the cellar, which is what's left of one of the houses. She's pulled back under as a boy peaks up right after. He's armed with a crossbow, and aiming it at this stranger. "YOU! STAY RIGHT THERE! MOVE AND I'LL PUT MORE ARROWS INTO YOU THAN Uh... THAN I CAN COUNT TO!"

Sun decides to play along, mindful of the fact that Sara and Cid can't shrug off arrows like they were mere annoyances. "Hey, easy, easy! I'm not here to hurt you... and neither are these other two! I'm looking for a girl called Terra... I was wondering if you could tell me if you saw what happened to her...You're all her orphans right? If you help me, I can help get her back..."

"...Mama?" The boy lowers his crossbow. "..." He then goes back into the cellar to discuss things with the others.

A young man, though older than the others comes up from the Cellar. "You can help us find Terra?"

The Falcon arrives as well. "TERRA, ARE YOU THERE?" Setzer yelled.

The young man looks at the gambler. "Mr. Gabbani? No, she... was kidnapped."  
>He pouts as he says this. "...We don't know where she went... we do know who she fought though!"<p>

He looks up at Sun and Setzer. "A cloaked woman who used two blackened blades. She wore blackened bandages and armor plating to match. Her chest plate had a demon relief on it. Her hair was blood red, and her hair was a deep purple. Her skin was really pale, and her voice... it sounded like ice. She... was chilling. We're used to hiding, that's how we managed to escape so quickly but..."

He turns his head to the cellar where a badly wounded kid laid resting. "One of the younger ones got hurt real bad. I'm afraid he's..." The young man sighs heavily, not wanting to say that the child won't make it through the night.

They absorb all the information.

"We can help. We have cure spells.." Caro said as Setzer nodded.

"In the flesh. We also have Mog and Gau."

The young man sighs. "You probably don't remember me. I'm Duane. Katarin's down below, tending to our child." He opens the cellar door and waves for the others to quickly follow.

Caro takes lead and follows, Mog and Setzer behind him.

"I've got most of it. Magicite implants y'know."

"Yeah, yeah yeah, horrible story, blah blah blah. We know." Setzer said, waving his hand.

The wounded kid rests on a bed, heavily bandaged, and gasping for breath. A red and pink haired girl tends to the bandages, applying healing solution whenever she changes them. She hears the group walk in and turns to face them after changing bandages. "Are you a doctor, mister?" The young one asks.

Sun considers for a moment, and then realizes all his abilities and spells are offensive in nature. "I don't really have any healing magic..."

"Here, let me take a look at him..." Sara walks up to the child and begins an examination. "I know some White Magic, so perhaps there is something I can do for him..."

Caro grins. "I'll help as well."

The young girl stands aside, letting Caro and Sara get to work. She waits in anticipation as the two new faces set upon helping her orphaned sibling.

Sun leaves Sara to it, and considers what the orphans have told him. "... Sounds like a real piece of work did this. ... Peh. Like that's going to stop me." '_The real issue is that barrier around the Fortress... If what that Cosmos woman said is true, and if Terra is correct in saying that's where she is... then I can't get in there.'_

"... Maybe I can draw them out though. But for that..." He shakes his head, his face in his hand. "... I'm going to need help. More importantly, I'm going to need HIS help."

Sara puts her hands on the child, and begins concentrating her magical energy to him. "Cure..." The magic seeps out through her hands and begins patching up wounds on his body, and concentrating on any internal wounds.

Caro, too, focuses on Cure, but he goes for outside wounds. "Holy light, bathe and bless... Cure!"

The child's wounds lessened, he manages to breathe easier, than and without as much pain as before. He goes back to sleep.

The girl looks at him, and back at Sara. "Wow! You got momma's power?"

Duane continues to watch the exit, crossbow in hand.

"So... who are you people?" The young girl curiously asks.

"Hm... I guess Returners. Long story short, I went through the same process as Celes." Caro said with a grin.

This young one, not understanding the ordeals the Gestahlian Empire put their elites through, just stares at the group.

"We're good guys, and his magic was given to him by the bad guy." Setzer said, shooting Caro a look.

"Oh. Okay. So is he a bad guy? He don't look like a bad guy..." The young girl stands up and grabs the broom out of the corner. She pretends to swing it like a weapon. "I wish I was bigger... then maybe Momma wouldn't have gotten taken by the badguys..."

Meanwhile, Sun talks to Cid.

"I doubt that the enemy will come back here for a group of Orphans... but on the off chance that they do..."

"You'd like me to stay here and look after the kids and Sara?"

"Right. You have a better chance of escaping from them in the Nautilus."

"... For Sara and those kids, anything. You be careful, alright?"

"Oh trust me... I'm going to need all the good luck I can get." Sun then turns and begins walking out onto the Veldt. He goes over what he knows about his enemy. '_Sounds like someone who lives for fighting... someone who does what they do not for any cause, but to fight the strongest of strong enemies..._

... Well fine. I'll just have to lure them out with a strong enough challenge.'

"Sometimes, gifts are not wanted." Caro said darkly.

Setzer grinned. "Well, keep eating what you need. Eventually, you can."

"And we'll get your momma back, I promise, kupo."

"Thanks Mog." She says quickly, while "training" using the broom.

"It's what I do, kupo." He said, beaming.

Sara just looks down at the child, glad that he appears to be getting better. "In my land, we all have magic like this. Is it so rare for someone to possess it in this world?"

Meanwhile, Sun looks out over the Veldt, or rather, to the massive stretch of water which used to contain the Veldt.

The Mad God Kefka had used his awesome power in the previous war to break the Veldt from its position outside of Mobliz and send it adrift on the water to form a new island. Why? Who could phantom such a person's motivations?

And that, more than anything was the motivation behind what he was doing. If he left anyone, much less a person like Terra in the hands of someone as deranged as Kefka or this person who destroyed a helpless village... he could never live with himself.

"If something is in my power to change... then I have to give it my all. No one deserves to be the last of their race."

But to reach the place where she was contained would require a power greater than his. If the Goddess was to be believed, even his Trance powers would not allow him to bypass the barrier. It was maintained by forces far beyond his understanding.

Therefore, if there was an obstacle that was undestroyable... the only method remaining was to bypass it.

And that would require the help of one being. One being who might possess the only method of bypassing the will of Gods and divine creatures.

... Too bad that one person would not be easy to get a hold of.

He returned to the village, and looked into the group, to make sure that the child was getting better. "Cid, would it be alright if I borrowed the Nautilus for a while?"

The engineer considered for a moment, before realizing that technically, it was not his ship to loan. But still, he assented. "Bring her back in one piece, alright?"

"Don't worry. The place I'm going is just a jump over the water." He turns to the rest of Terra's friends. There was a dilemma. If he went alone, he'd feel much better about it. Risks to himself were far more desirable than risks to other people. But there was a good chance that if he did that, they would follow anyway. Terra seemed to be the kind of person that everyone would rush to help. ... It had to be nice to have such companions.

"If you want to come with me, I won't force you. I'm making one stop at the Dragon's Neck Coliseum. Then... It's straight to the enemy's lair." With that said, he left and walked towards the Nautilus, flying straight for the arena.

The young girl wanted to follow Sun, but Duane held her back. "Best stay here."

"B-But!"

Duane shakes his head. "Go help Katarin."

"For Terra." Caro and Setzer said, getting on the Falcon.

Mog hugs the girl. "We'll be back soon, with your mama, kupo." Releasing the girl, he hurried to the ship.

"We've got your tail." Setzer announced with a grin.

0-0-0-0-0

At the Fortress of Bedlam...

"This place feels so empty..."

"Yer imagining things. Now quit dawdling." Jecht stops and massages his neck like he always does. "...Wasn't there a... tunnel this way?"

"...Perhaps..." A familiar voice responds in reply. Rose steps forward. "And where are you taking the girl this fine day, Jecht?"

Jecht turns to face her. '_Yuh-Oh.'_"Well uhh... you know. This place is a dump. Thought I'd put her to work, sprucing it up."

Terra sees Rose as well, and rushes to attack. Jecht grapples her, subduing the young lady. "Hey! You sure that whatever it is working?"

"Let ME GO!"

"Not if **someone** removed it." She sighs. "Only one thing to do now." And with that, Rose brandishes one of her blades, and walks towards Terra with a vicious smile. She raises it, and swings it down on Terra...

...only to have it blocked by Jecht's forearm. "Hey now. No need for that. I'll see that the girl behaves."

Rose glares at him. "Hmph. I strongly doubt that." After some consideration, she sheathes her blade. "Do as you will. I've no time for your folly, Jecht. Your folly is your downfall, Jecht. Yet sadly, I've no time to enjoy watching it." She brushes by the two coldly.

"I think I will... uh... do as I will. Whatever." Jecht, like the brute he is, throws Terra to the ground. "Look Missy. You don't want that crown back on your head right? Try not to stand out so much."

Terra gets off of the ground, glaring at Jecht. "She's the one who destroyed my home! My family!"

"Hoo boy. Hell-bent on revenge, are ya?"

Terra looks off to her side and back at Jecht again, speaking with a voice of anger and sadness. "She has to answer for what she did..."

"So you kill her here. In the middle of the enemy's stronghold. What happens next, huh? Just gonna walk on out?"

"..."

"The right time'll come. Trust me. Until then, just keep doing as I say, got it?"

Terra nods and follows Jecht.

0-0-0-0-0

Sun walks into the Dragon's Neck Coliseum, and heads straight for the main desk. For ages, the desk manager was a strange octopus like creature, but he had recently paid off his debts to the owner and left with his... companion. Best not even to get into that.

The new person on the desk had been doing his job for over a year now, and had seen the Esper come in more than once. So he was well accustomed to the routine. "The usual wager Sun?"

The Esper nods, and the man leans down into the box below the desk and withdraws an intricate looking blade. If one were to look at it in first glance, they would be sure that it was one of the greatest blades of legend, the Sword of Kings Excalibur.

Sun and the man both knew full well that it was a replica. A very, very good replica, but as ornamental as the original blade was deadly. The blade was all but worthless in combat, but here, it had a very, very useful purpose, which was why Sun left it there.

"You know the drill, he'll pop up after you beat your first opponent. Dunno why he doesn't just make himself part of the lineup..."

"... You ever have seen him around here if I don't wager this blade?"

"... Now that you mention it... where does he appear from?"

Sun considers a moment. "Ask no questions, and I'll tell you no lies."

In other words, he has no clue, but it is this precise skill of his that Sun needs right now. The gate opens, and Sun walks through the arena gates and into the central area. "... Right then. Wonder what today's fare is?" He draws both his blades, spinning them in his hands once before facing whatever opponent wants to challenge him.

The Dragon Neck Coliseum, pretty much Zozo's own "opera house". And who would revel in the violence and bloodshed more than Rose herself, who thought she'd kick back and have a little fun at the expense of the lives of others. Of course, there was that little rule that if the foe was clearly unable to continue the fight, she would have to stand down. An irksome rule that she always reluctantly would follow.

Sun is quite surprised when the red haired opponent appears before him. Previously, he would have fought an annoying little enemy who looked like he was wearing an onion shaped helmet. Though, the description of his foe easily sets off alarm bells.

"Let's see. Long red hair, dark armour, purple eyes, cloaked blades, and a general demeanour that just screams 'Freudian Excuse'. Either you're the woman from Mobliz, or that end of the world cult is on the recruitment drive again. Well. I was in a rush before... but I guess I can settle down and take my time now."

He spins both his blades, waiting for the official start of the match.

The woman grins slightly, and then spreads that grin to a vicious, inhuman sneer of a grin as she draws one of her blackened sabers.

"... Only one? Meh, I coulda sworn I merited two blades." He takes his stance, then looks to the official announcer.

"Ready? BEGIN!"

Sun immediately decides to test the waters, solidifying a number of icicle spears in the air, then launches them at random intervals towards Rose.

Rose decided to start off easy. She blocked one or two ice shards flying her way, but took a cut across her arm. "Hmph." She went for counter attack, but Sun was ready.

Caro, Mog, and Setzer are in the stands.

"Hm. Not the usual fight..." Caro commented.

"Maybe today's special, kupo." Mog said, watching with interest.

"I doubt it. The die is always fixed in the arena."

"Apparently not." Caro said, glancing down at the fight.

Sun shifts to the right as Rose charges her attack forward and brings both blades in a horizontal slash to her torso, dodging like a bullfighter. "Ole! ... Or however that goes. Taking me lightly will come back to haunt you." In a swift movement, the red blade ignites with Flame. Sun launches a rapid slash which sends a wave of flame towards her.

Rose didn't expect the blades to be charged with flame, and wash pushed back into a skid from the surge of power. That was two hits he managed on her. "I see you're one I might need to try against..."

Sun only has a moment to enjoy this reversal of fortune before Rose launches into a series of slashing blows. Though he brings his guard up, the blows seem to curve around his guard, and strike him, sending him flying. He pulls himself up against the wall, and is sent flying by a second slash. His sword lands in the ground and Sun grabs onto it to prevent him flying further.

"Now... I'm kinda annoyed." His eyes flash and turn red as he says this. With a single bound, he crosses the new distance to Rose and launches into a spinning slash, as both blades light up with their respective elements.

Rose reads this easily and blocks the attack one handed, pivots into an overhead flip, and twirls her blade into a slash at Sun's back.

Sun does not have time to bring his blades to bear against Rose's attack, but then, he does not need to. As his glare, a pillar of ice rises from the ground to intercept her attack. Sun swings round and strikes the pillar with a full powered slash, launching blocks of ice towards her.

In the heat of battle, Rose weaves between the chunks of ice, now more familiar with this attack and leaps skyward where she unsheathes her second blade and launches cutting winds down towards Sun.

Rose's bombardment of cutting winds strike home on an unprepared Sun, smashing him into the ground with ferocious power. "... Hard to see how you can have all this power... and still get your kicks from burning down Orphanages."

As he stands, his eyes, now red, begin to glow. "Let's... quit playing around."

EX-Mode - Trance

A blaze of light engulfs him, and where he once stood, a fiery creature now stands. Both swords levitate at his sides, emitting casual bursts of ice and flames.

"Now then... how about this?" He throws both blades forward, scything in towards Rose's position, then fires off a burst of flames to meet her position.

Rose's twisted smile widens as she meets each attack with a swift parry, and manages to only become singed by the burst of flame. "So glad you chose to fight rather than stay on the ground. I prefer the ones who let me kill them..." She then goes in for her counter, performing a series of flips and forward somersaults until she gets close enough to twirl her blades into an 'X' slash.

Sun swings both blades back in to clash with the oncoming slash, but his limited telekinetic control is overwhelmed by the ferocity of the slash. Both blades go flying into the distance, crashing into the ground nearby.

Sun leaps back, his energy worn.

'_Tch... I can't keep this up. She's good... And besides, the more time I waste here... the more danger Terra might be in.'_

He closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath. "It looks like I'll have to let everything go... well." He stretches out his hands and calls the swords back to him, erupting out of the ground and flying out to his outstretched hands.

"It's a shame that I'll have to deprive the crowd of a show... but I need every advantage I can get. For someone like you... I don't have the luxury of holding back."

He then closes his eyes, and faces his foe head on. The words light up in his head, as he has rehearsed them for every occasion he might have to use them. His path is clear.

"_I am the..._"

"Buwahahahaha!"

That laugh. That laugh. That laugh. There is one, and only one person that it could possibly belong to. The very person he came to see, who has appeared at what might be the worst possible time.

As Sun looks up, a red cloaked figure leaps from the top of the coliseum, and glides down towards the ongoing fight. Sun knows however, that this supposed show of grace, dexterity, and awe is doomed to have a singular conclusion. It always does.

To his, and perhaps the entire cosmological order's surprise however, not only does the red cloaked man successfully glide down and land, he manages to draw all of his six swords in a surprisingly competent manner.

Deep in the depths of space, this otherwise benign incident serves to draw the attention of a supreme cosmological force, who quickly acts to right the balance of the entire universe.

In the coliseum, the red cloaked man revels in the applause of the crowd, before being subsequently knocked over and sent flying into a wall by the entrance of a large wolf like creature, who is supposedly his companion.

The deed done, the chaos rightened, the being returns to its duty of creating a new universe.

Sun looks over to where the red cloaked man has crashed, and is almost tempted to ask if he's alright. ... Almost.

... But with a bound and a leap, the man regains his footing!

"Foul harpy who preys on the innocent! Now we FIGHT!"

"Y'know I was doing... Not bad..."

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><p><strong>Sun Tzu:<strong> Sun, Sarah, Cid, Red Cloaked Man who is totally not Gilgamesh,

**WhiteLycan:** Rose, Terra, Jecht, Duane, Pink haired orphan who totally isn't named Leona...and all the other orphans too.

**Spitz:** Caro, Mog, Setzer,


	2. Chapter 2: TERRA!

**CoWR - Saving Terra**

_Chapter 2: TERRA!_

_**DISCLAIMER: I know I said that I would only do these at the beginning of the stories, but this is needed, because the chant that Sun uses is not original...You'll know it when you see it.**_

Just a little note for this and all CoWR stories, if you see a random number somewhere, it's from the dice roll BBC code we use to determine hits, blocks, criticals, and misses, or it may be their HP value if it's something like 3/10 or something. I am trying to remove all of the instances of them when in the text (most of the time rolls are after the post while HP is at the end of a sentence), but I know that there will probably be a few that get through.

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><p>"..." Internally, Rose's entire subconscious just united in a massive 'WTF.' "...And you are...?" She dashed towards the dramatically bold newcomer with a ferocious spin slash deciding she'd get him out of the way and finish off her previous challenger.<p>

Almost effortlessly, the six armed warrior brings his swords to bear to block the spinning slash. "They call me many names! To some, I am the King of Heroes! To others, I am the Lord of Babylon! To face my blades is to know death, and to know death is to know ME! Gilgamesh!"

With his introduction over, Gilgamesh breaks their blade lock and launches into a series of spinning blows of his own.

Meanwhile, though she seeks Gilgamesh's death now, Sun does not hesitate to join in the strike. "Don't forget about me!" He channels his magic and stabs both blades into the ground, erupting the area around Rose with alternating spikes of flame and ice.

Rose parries Gilgamesh's attacks deftly, and flips backwards after. She notices energy gathering at her feet and rolls to the side just as ice and flames begin shooting up beneath her. She stands up, and brushes off a flame that singed one of her arms. "And so they swarm..." Rose combines her two swords into a daikatana, and rushes at Gilgamesh with a leaping strike.

Gilgamesh raises his blades to intercept, but at the last moment can't raise his blades in time and is slashed.

"Pah! I've fought worse!" He then reaches in his... Actually, I don't know where he stores his blades, but he reaches in there and replaces two swords with the Buster Sword and the Brotherhood. He then launches himself into the air and brings his blades down into the ground, slamming them with all his power, unleashing a mighty attack, Ultimate Illusion.

Sun meanwhile throws out a Firaga/Blizzaga combo at Rose.

Rose takes a massive hit from the blade combo from Gilgamesh, which leaves her open from an attack by Sun. "Nrgh!" The force combined is enough to send her reeling into a wall. She stands up, and puts on a smirk once again. "I see. I believe I can even these odds..." Rose waits for them to rush at her again, and crushes a black crystal, opening a portal that consumes the three, and takes them into the heart of enemy territory. The Fortress of Bedlam.

Sun however, isn't quite finished with the psychotic foe yet, and sees the change of scenery as the best place to execute his plan.

"_I am the bone of my sword.  
>Steel is my body, and fire is my blood.<br>Through Fire and Ice, I have forged my path.  
>Through Life and Death, I carve my destiny.<br>Have withstood pain to create and destroy.  
>Yet, those hands will never hold anything."<em>

His eyes flash open as he launches his Ex-Burst.

"Phase one. Infernal Meltdown!" Around Rose, a circle of flames erupts, and a massive pillar of flames bursts from the ground.

"Phase two. Glacial Storm!" The flames freeze over, and shatter into a storm of ice which slices everything in its reach.

"_So as I pray, Unlimited Blade Works._" Swords of Fire and Ice rain down on the area, as Sun leaps through them to deliver a single bisecting slash with both of his blades.

The moment the Ex-Burst is over, Sun uses the chaos caused by the attack to run into the fortress. Gilgamesh follows, if only because Sun still hasn't finished his fight with him.

"So what are we doing in this place?"

Sun turns back to him. "Simple. We're on a rescue mission. Let's make it count, shall we?"

"A comrade in distress? Then we shall TRIUMPH!"

Meanwhile, Kuja decides to investigate the explosion that occurred, and finds Rose. "My, my. What happened here?"

Rose picks herself up, wiping the corner of her mouth. "To tread on our hospitality so... inconsiderately." _'Well, keep in mind that I'm not the only host in our own little slice of hell here' _"It's just someone trying to make a show of his bravado. He's as good as dead and buried."

Rose sets out on following Sun and Gilgamesh at a casual pace. Whether she knows Gilgamesh came along as well is uncertain.

Kuja gives the kind of smirk that can only be described as smug. "Oh, so you brought a new mouse to our little abode? Heheheh. Well, we can't have rodents scurrying about the place." He takes into the air, and starts flying after Sun and Gilgamesh.

Reikakou was casually walking on one of the hallways of Bedlam. Mindlessly going anywhere, skipping a beat, hopping and kicking stray rocks. In reality, he was looking for that frail little child that goes with the name of Poke to make sure she does not get herself into trouble until her "mother" arrives. _'Where the hell is that kid?'_

Until a thundering blast was heard from a distance. Reikakou's immediate line of thinking was that the kid might have already put herself into a pinch. "Oh damn... don't tell me?"

He quickly vanished on a spiral of flames as a portal opened underneath him to go and check the area where the blast originated only to see Sun and Gilgamesh running haphazardly around the intricate chasms of Bedlam.

"Hola! Buenas Dia, Senor!" Reikakou greeted. "What's with the adrenaline rush?"

He then noticed Sun and just thought of Gilgamesh as a random NPC. "Oh! So the dual elemental wielder who duked it all out with that hot tentacle momma is here. I must say, I am quite impressed with your bravery and... Utter foolishness as well."

Then Reikakou remember a green haired Esperkin entrusted by Rose to Jecht. "Oh! Maybe you're here to save that green haired chick that Rose brought here as her... 'Spoils of war'."

Reikakou waltz back and forth on the hallway as he thinks. "Hmmm... Since I am in such a good mood for job well done earlier, I think I'll be generous today. Her little cage is way up ahead on the hallway behind me. Now it's all up to you if you'll believe me or not."

"And I'm not in the mood to fight you two either since I'm still having some jet lags. So! Good luck to both of you. If you excuse me, I happen to be searching for a lost kid here."

Reikakou turned and casually walked away from Sun and Gilgamesh to continue his search for Poke.

Sun stops to consider the flame wielders words, but is forced to follow Gilgamesh as he dashes down the corridor that the man indicated.

"You're not even REMOTELY concerned that this might be a trap?"

"What have we to lose? If it is a trap, then our swords shall make a most persuasive argument! And should it be true, we are one step closer to our goal!"

"...Your logic is unassailable."

"You agree?"

"No, I mean it's so removed from the concept of logic that I can't attack it. But sometimes, you have a point."

The two 'companions' reach the door indicated by the flame wielder.

"This is it. Swords at the ready?"

"AS ALWAYS!"

Sun opens the door to whatever is behind it.

It was...Voldmort!

...Wait, wrong fanfic...uh...look down there! The plot is advancing!

A young green haired girl is seen chained to the wall in the room. "...It's you! So you came! I'm so glad... please, cut me free of these chains!"

And just like any regular RPG where there is a boss fight before actually saving the Princess or whoever, Reikakou appeared in a spiral of flames and mightily posed in between Terra and her daredevil saviors, Sun and Gilgamesh. A devious laugh echoed all through out the hollow hallways of the fortress. He posed as if he was the 'boss' of that part of the fortress. Well... in reality, he was hoping just as hard that Rose or even her beloved Sephiroth or the tree himself, Exdeath will come to fight alongside him. Nevertheless, he courageously stood there and did not flinch even though he was on a disadvantage of 2 against 1.

"Greetings! We meet again." He grinned beaming an obvious red mark on his cheek as a result of Rose's fierce bitch slap. _'Awww... I think that I just lost a tooth...' _He spat out blood on the rocky adobe.

"The name is Reikakou of the Raging Flames. The only Chaos flamer seeing as Igso has met an untimely demise."

"Alright... so my first attempt to earn my keep on this fortress was a big dud costing me a tooth. So I volunteered myself to capture you two to make up for it. So... would you two just kindly drop down your weapons, raise your hands high up in the air and simply surrender?" He asked.

He then shook his head. "But of course we villains do not live in a land of sunshine and rainbows. So a little bit of complications like you two ganging up against me is needed for our existence as the antagonists of this war to be somehow... 'Meaningful'. Hence, let's just start the ball rolling... shall we?"

With that Reikakou extended his right hand side ward and allowed it to be enveloped by a spiral of flames yielding him a flame whip. He quickly twirled it around himself to form a wide blazing torrent. However, as he spun his flame whip, a whiplash hit the chains shackling Terra cutting it and setting the Esperkin free.

"Burn!" Thus Reikakou hurled the fire storm towards Sun and Gilgamesh, oblivious that Terra was already set free on his back. Or so it seems.

As the flame whip flies towards them, Sun raises his hand and brings a wall of Ice up. The flames strike the freezing barrier, and the two eventually cancel each other out. "Yeah, here's something I've found for you. If you specialize in one element, be prepared to have everyone who has your opposing element walk over you."

Sun swings the blue blade Luna into the air and brings it down in a furious slash, launching a blast of Ice towards Reikakou.

Gilgamesh draws his blades once more, and slashes with six razor sharp blows which launch destructive winds towards him.

Terra, who's behind Rei, hesitates, watching the two parties go at it.

The blast of ice hit the recoiling Reikakou and slammed him against the wall. Ice engulfed his arms as he tries to block the incoming blast. As he picked himself up, he finally noticed Terra freed from her shackles if not expecting her to be in such state and also sees Gilgamesh's strike in time to raise his froze arms to block the wind strikes shattering the ice. "Go... Join them." He whispered to Terra as he summoned fire balls around him.

He faced Sun. "That goes the same with you Esperkin. It has been my life long undertaking to crush the elements being governed by Shiva and most especially that false god idol Leviathan whose very existence took away everything from me!"

He raises his hands and flicked his fingers to the air to simultaneously launch a dozen fire balls towards Sun and Gilgamesh.

Terra runs into hiding behind Sun and Gilgamesh. "Keep fighting!"

Sun watches the incoming flame balls, and decides to create shards of ice to intercept. Something is in his favor as the intercepted ice blades cancel out the flames. "You might want to work a little harder than that. Terra, are you alright?"

He sheathes Sol, knowing that flames are useless in this battle. With his full concentration on Luna, he stabs the blade into the ground, causing blades of Ice to burst out of the ground at Reikakou's position.

Gilgamesh takes the opportunity to leap over the blades to launch a six series strike against the flame wielder.

"I'm fine... just a little tired..." Terra begins concentrating on gathering magical energy.

Without a need to recover from launching his fireballs unlike the firestorm, Reikakou easily saw the upsurge of ice beneath him and easily hopped backwards out of its effective range. And then he materialized a fire blade on each of his arms in time to parry all six strikes of Gilgamesh and used it to gain momentum to counter with a round house blazing kick right into Gilgamesh's gut.

"So it seems distance is not an issue for both of us Esperkin." He summoned another set of fire balls. "What is your name?" And launched it again to Sun. This time each fire ball takes an erratic flight pattern making it difficult to track.

Gilgamesh has nary a moment to realize what is happening before a considerably lucky strike to the torso sends him flying into a wall.

Sun meanwhile, takes the barrage of fireballs and nullifies it once again with a barrage of Ice projectiles. Sun then considers for a second. "... Wait, why are we still fighting? Gilgamesh!"

"Huh?"

"... Can't you just GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE?"

"OH! ... Err... I need... preparation time!"

"... More bloody likely you can't remember how it works..." Sun mumbles "Right! Looks like this fight keeps going with just us then!" He throws out a Blizzaga which takes the form of a barrage of Ice boulders trampling their way towards Reikakou.

"Yes. We must escape! Follow me!" Terra, now seeing an opening to flee, runs, expecting the two to follow her.

Sun had just finished launching his attack, when he saw Terra out of the corner of his eye run out of the room. "Hey, where are you... Gilgamesh is... Damn."

He decides to follow after her. "... Guess our time together comes to a close. It's been... err... somewhat entertaining?"

He stretches out his power to the Blizzaga spell once more and overloads it with magic, causing it to explode into a solid wall of ice which slams into Reikakou, as both Sun and Gilgamesh chase Terra out of the room.

"Where exactly are we going here?"

"There's someone who can help us! I just need to meet up with him..." She turns a corner down the darkened hallways.

He was sure that the fire ball will be enough to serve as a distraction so that he can sneak in close to Sun and engage him to close quarter combat. But as he dashed forward, ice boulders and a powerful blast of Blizzaga made its way towards him that slammed him to the wall and rendered him incapacitated. He bounced to the ground planting his face on it.

"Great... I might need a full denture this time when I face Rose..."

He smirked. "Heh... it's either that green haired Esperkin was already 'lectured well by that meathead Jecht or those two were just lured into another trap. Either way... there is no need for me to involve myself further."

He picked himself up and slowly walks back to where he left Poke. Engulfing himself into flames to rid his body of the icy abominations.

Sun considers for a moment. '_If there was someone here willing to help us, and I went to get this guy for no good reason, then so help me...'_

Meanwhile, Mateus watches the three run past, and considers his response. But firstly, his own works require attention.

He concentrates his energies on a Dark Crystal in his possession, which shows him that the group he sent to retrieve the Black Mask has been successful in their appointed task. '_Garland, I believe the intruders upon the island should be made... more familiar with the natives. Perhaps if they were forced to co-habit?'_

His task issued, he then considers Rose's escaping prey. '_Perhaps you can be of some use to me...'_

He concentrates the black mist with which he creates another Black Knight. "Run them down. I do not expect you to achieve victory... but there is something you can do." He mutters a few words over the Knight before it goes galloping after the group.

Meanwhile, Kuja homes in on the escaping trio, but holds back from engaging them at the present time. '_It's of no benefit to me if that thorn succeeds... though perhaps the destruction of annoyances is its own reward. Let us see what actions they take first.'_

And the three have skidded into a dead end. Terra looks around, and turns to Sun. "Thank you so much for rescuing me." She grabs onto Sun, hugging him. "And to think... you're an Esperkin yourself..." She says as she holds him in embrace and stares into his eyes. The Esperkin girl reaches up to kiss him upon the lips. Before those lips could make contact with his though, she leaps back with a snarl, avoiding a burst of magic aimed at her.

A cloaked figure lands from out of nowhere.

The "rescued" Terra snarls inhumanly and sheds her facade, revealing herself to be nothing more than a manikin of the Terra that Sun was acquainted with. The cloaked figure says nothing, but sends out a burst of Fira at the foe.

Needless to say, Sun is quite put off by this latest turn of events. "Okay, firstly, I'm a full esper, not an Esperkin. Secondly, what the hell... and thirdly... KILL IT WITH FIRE!"

In addition to the stranger's blast of Fira, Sun ups the ante with his most powerful flame based spell - Firaja. The flames erupt from his hand and engulf the area in an inferno, which Sun directs to contract and envelop the Terra Manikin.

The Terra manikin bursts forward, avoiding the line of fire from Firaja and swipes it's sword at the hooded figure who leaps back, causing her hood to fall down, revealing her green hair, tied up in a pony tail.

She promptly clashes blades with the manikin, and both are repelled back. Terra lands and casts a bolt of Thundara at her foe as it regains its balance.

Sun is now over his confusion and reactionary moves, and grabs his swords to launch his own attack.

He leaps up, and using the Manikin's state of imbalance following Terra's magic, launches a bisecting slash with both of his blades.

Gilgamesh on the other hand is NOT over his confusion, and is still trying to determine how Terra has an identical twin, and how that identical twin seems to be made of crystal.

And now the identical twin is shattered, which should clear up confusion, or cause it to increase. Terra watches as the remains burn away into dust. "...Um..." Terra turns to Sun. "I know you, don't I?"

Sun watches the Manikin turn to dust. '_It seems that our enemies have a power that we cannot emulate... To create even flawed copies like that is something to behold...'_

Sun sheathes both his swords, and his eyes return to their normal green, signifying his transition out of battle. He then turns to the green haired woman who saved his life. "We met in the vision with Cosmos." He smiles, and then holds out his hand. "Sun. Esper, Gladiator, Wanderer, and... In his case, babysitter."

Gilgamesh takes this moment to introduce himself. "I have many names! Some refer to me as the..."

Sun decides to cut him short. "His name is Gilgamesh. And right now, he's our ticket out of here. ... Provided he can remember how."

"Not just yet. That woman... she has to pay!" Terra turns away from Sun, and wonders where Rose could be at this moment.

"Whoa, hold on there. Now, no one wants to punch that bitch in the face as much as I do, but let's be realistic here."

"This is the enemy fortress. There have got to be tons of servants of Chaos here. We're all exhausted from fighting, and I personally had to use my Trance to fight her. Maybe, just maybe all three of us could team up to defeat her at a heavy cost. What happens when the next person comes along? The next two? Three? Fifty?"

He walks over to her and puts his hand on her shoulder. "There's a time to fight, and then there's a time to know when you're heavily outgunned, and exacting vengeance isn't an option. Besides, I don't think Sara can look after your Orphans forever... she does kinda have a kingdom to run. ... If, y'know, it weren't occupied at the moment."

Terra almost freezes up. "...They're alive?"

Sun nods. "Alive and well, and very good at hiding. Hell, alive enough to aim a crossbow at my head. One of them was rather badly hurt, but between Sara and... Some other guy, he should make a full recovery. Which means, that throwing yourself into the midst of Chaos' minions is not an option right now."

Terra weighs her options. "Let's try to get away from here." She gives one last glance down the hallway and follows Sun and Gilgamesh.

Sun personally has no idea where they are going, and trusts Gilgamesh to know what to do. Which as it turns out, was a very, very bad idea. The two run into a dead end. "Gilgamesh..."

Behind them, a man floats down from the sky. And on the ground, the Black Knight's demonic steed gives a snort of contempt.

"It seems that the little mice... have reached the end of the road."

Sun turns to the red cloaked man, to give him the signal that this will be their fight or flight moment. But Gilgamesh does not intend to die here. Instead, he reaches within the folds of his cloak, and withdraws a mighty looking, curved, dark blue blade.

"Gil?"

He turns around and with a single slash; cuts open the fabric of space behind them. The resultant tear begins to draw everything in the area in towards it.

Kuja cannot believe the developments that are occurring. "You... You think you can just run away from US?" He floats in the air; the orbs that suspend him begin spinning around him, gathering ancient magics to him...

The Black Knight decides to fulfill the duty given to it by Mateus, and dashes forward. Its wicked lance is thrust towards its opponent, the green haired woman.

Quick as a flash, Sun meets the thrust with his blades. But the lance curves downwards at the last second, scoring a glancing blow on his arm, resulting in a cut.

This is immaterial, as Gilgamesh uses the blue blade to slice through it in a single blow. "Through the portal! With haste!" With that, Gilgamesh leaps through.

"Terra! Come on!"

Terra looks at Kuja, and then at the portal. "..." She quickly dives through, taking her chance to escape.

Before Kuja can bombard the place with Ultima, Sun has leapt through the resulting portal. The devastating rain of annihilation rains down where they once were, and leaves Kuja very, very annoyed. He begins flying to search for Rose, to demand to know where she was while her prey escaped.

Meanwhile, Sun, Gilgamesh and Terra burst out through the portal, and land in another fortress like place. This one does not resonate with evil though.

Sun pulls himself up, and looks around. "Holy hell, I don't believe that actually worked. We got out of there, safe, sound, and in one piece, and it will be that way forever!"

He then turns around to face the roaring of a massive flying beast, already locked in combat with several figures.

"...God. Damn. It. All."

* * *

><p><strong>WhiteLycan:<strong> Terra, Rose,

**Sun Tzu:** Gilgamesh, Kuja, Sun, Mateus,

**Reikakou:** Reikakou,

Yes, I do realize that some of the events mentioned have not appeared yet, but it is four AM, and I do need my sleep, so I shall upload all those chapters tomorrow.

...And I bet Lycan got a few of ya thinking Terra would actually kiss Sun.

R&R Please! I still can't believe out of the thousand of you that read Introduction, NONE of you has reviewed...and no, you do not count Sun and Gob.


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